Enantiospecific Brook Rearrangement of Tertiary Benzylic α-Hydroxysilanes

The Brook rearrangement of simple, chiral tertiary benzylic α-hydroxysilanes is presented. The rearrangement followed by proton trapping is enantiospecific and proceeds with inversion of the configuration at the carbon center. Importantly, the [1,2]-Brook rearrangement can be followed by trapping of methyl or allyl electrophiles even in the protic environment, although with minimal retention of chirality.